Here’s the truth: Knotty Intentions might not blow up this year. It might not even break even. And honestly? I don’t care. What I do care about is that the ideas don’t stop, and that with time, at least one of them is going to hit. That’s how dreams turn into something real.
Right now the site still has its rough edges. The mockups are lame, computer-generated, and yeah, I see it too. I’m not at the point yet where I can call up Joe Navas and ask him to bring his crew of beautiful souls to model the brand while he captures it with his unreal photography. That’ll come. For now, I’m working with filler items and letting the brand find its shape. Slowly, I’ll start phasing those pieces out and pushing Knotty Intentions toward a true clothing line instead of a half-merch shop. (Though let’s be honest—I’m keeping the CL squirrel pillow. I already roasted it in another post, and I just picked up the biggest version they had. It’s absurd, but it’s mine.)
I don’t need instant validation to keep going. Running CLCA takes the majority of my focus, and KI gets whatever scraps of time and energy are left. That’s enough. Because when I don’t obsess about first-year “success,” I give myself the space to grow this thing at its own pace. I’ll tweak the site, test designs, throw out the duds, and see what wild highdeas come next.
Will I ever bring in a digital marketing person? Maybe. Will 2–3 global visitors a day make this sustainable? Of course not. But none of that shakes me. Because I know the second one product pops—one hoodie, one tee, one idea that resonates—this whole thing shifts.
And in the meantime, the best way to support KI isn’t complicated: share it. Share it with your climber buddy who’ll laugh at the upside-down “If You’re Reading This… Send Aerial Rescue” hoodie. Share it with the friend who always seems to be in trouble—the Knotty embroidered tee was made for them. Share it with that smart, classy entomologist in your life who will absolutely lose it over the edgy educator design about ants.
My humor might still be stuck at sixteen. The adults have to live with it now. But that’s the magic: Knotty Intentions is unapologetic, a little reckless, and fully confident that with time, effort, and the right spark, it’ll grow. Failure doesn’t scare me. Not trying would.